Suite Talk: Health Care Boost

A Lytle Shake-Up

Clark & Associates has been transformed into Clark Lytle & Geduldig with the addition of Gary Lytle, who recently joined the firm.

Most recently, Lytle headed up Qwest’s Washington office. Before joining Qwest, Lytle was the chief executive officer of the United States Telecom Association and a vice president at Ameritech.

Also a Michigan Bell alumnus, Lytle brings with him a close relationship with the Michigan delegation, including Rep. John Dingell (D), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Sen. Carl Levin (D), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“Gary’s bipartisan and bicameral relationships will be a tremendous asset to our firm. Gary has been a close friend of mine for more than 30 years. I know he will add great value to our work. We are lucky to have him,” said founding partner Steve Clark.

The American Bankers Association, Ernst & Young and Fidelity Investments are among Clark Lytle & Geduldig’s major clients.

Heather Podesta & Partners Gets a Health Care Boost

Hill veteran Stacy Stordahl has joined Heather Podesta & Partners, bringing more than a decade of Capitol Hill experience and a wealth of health care experience to the government relations firm.

Most recently, Stordahl was the senior policy adviser for the Senate Special Committee on Aging, focusing on Medicare, Medicaid, prescription drug issues and health care reform for Chairman Herb Kohl (D-Wis.).

Before joining the Senate, Stordahl was legislative director for Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), focusing on health care issues. She has also worked for Wisconsin Democratic Reps. Tammy Baldwin and Ron Kind, and former Sen. Don Riegle (D-Mich.).

Kolton Joins Brunswick

The Brunswick Group, a global strategic communications firm, announced that Anne Womack Kolton has joined the firm as a director based in the firm’s Washington office.

Kolton comes from the Department of Energy, where she was the director of public affairs. In her new position at Brunswick, Kolton will also focus on public affairs, as well as political risk management for domestic and global corporate clients.

Before she joined the Department of Energy, Kolton was the director of public affairs for the Department of the Treasury. There, she was the primary spokeswoman on financial markets, institutions and education.

Expanding to the Far East

Covington & Burling, an international law firm, is expanding its Asian expertise with the addition of Ellen R. Eliasoph, a senior lawyer with more than 25 years of experience in China and Japan.

She will be helping the firm’s domestic and European clients navigate the intricacies of the Asian market. She is joining the firm’s Washington office as senior counsel.

Eliasoph has spent 16 years in Asia with Warner Bros. Entertainment and will continue to help the company manage its Chinese-language film production business. She has also worked as a private practitioner in China and Japan.

“Ellen Eliasoph has spent a quarter-century working in Asia and, insofar as China is concerned, working to ensure the successful entry of foreign investors from all sectors into that market,” Stuart Stock, chairman of Covington’s management committee, said in a statement. “Her deep base of experience and knowledge of Asia’s leading business and legal cultures will be of great value to our U.S. and European clients in establishing, managing and expanding their businesses in the region, as well as to Asian companies that are new entrants to the global marketplace.”

Fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Japanese, Eliasoph earned her law degree from Yale Law School. She also studied in the Law Department of Beijing University, where she was a member of the initial group of U.S.-government-sponsored exchange students in the People’s Republic of China.

A Rising Star

The National Asociation of Manufacturers announced that Rosario Palmieri has been promoted to vice president of infrastructure, legal and regulatory policy. He had been director of energy and resource policy, the position he took when he joined NAM earlier this year.

“Rosario is an excellent example of the high quality of professionals joining the NAM,” said the association’s president, John Engler. “The NAM has assumed a leadership role in shaping a comprehensive infrastructure strategy for America’s future. The Alliance for Improving America’s Infrastructure will be housed in the newly reorganized department that Rosario will lead.”

Previously, Palmieri was on the staff of the House Committee on Government Reform and the House Committee on Small Business.

Suite Talk is a regular Politico feature that follows career changes, client developments and other movements in the public affairs sector. If you have a news item, please send it to suitetalk@politico.com.